I am
thrilled to pieces with my first month of 2014.
Compared to January in 2013, well let's just say, there is no
comparison. For one thing, revenue is
coming in, last year not so much. Also
last year I got bad news regarding my health.
This year I am doing much better.
Last
month I tracked every penny I spent and I mean every penny. As always, I
kept my grocery log so I wouldn’t go overboard on that budget and it made it
easy to stay on track and know where I was throughout the month. It helped me a lot so I knew if I had that
extra wiggle room in the budget to take advantage of a really good bargain like
that ham and the steaks I bought at the end of the month.
I
carefully weighed out my spending. The
fixed monthly expenses that needed to be paid like the mortgage, utilities,
etc. were paid without a problem. The
grocery budget and the non-food budget were funded. Even our "fun" budget was funded
and we enjoyed a dinner out at a noodle restaurant my girls had been wanting to
try for some time.
I was
able to afford to replace the battery on my truck and cross that off my auto
repair and maintenance list. The best
part was that I was able to take care of it without stress or a credit card.
I was
able to meet and exceed my savings goal last month by 110% which made me
incredibly happy. I also met my other
financial goals last month. Additionally,
I was able to finish the month out and head into February with extra money in
my checking account.
I
bought myself a few splurge items, so no, I definitely did not feel as if I was
depriving myself of anything. A bottle
of nail polish and two bottles of wine, all purchased on sale, took care of
that. I definitely felt that I was
treating myself well. I also treated my
girls to donuts a couple of times last month and that made them feel special
along with our dinner out.
I
completely attribute my success to the fact that I tracked every single penny
and knew exactly where I stood financially at any given moment. That accountability was key. It also made me really think about how I was
spending my money and whether or not certain purchases should even be made.
It felt
awesome to be in control of my money and my expenses as opposed to feeling like
my expenses had a stranglehold on me.
That's wonderful!! :) I love when my savings goes higher than expected!
ReplyDeleteIt's a great feeling! :)
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